Seminole fans rally behind accused quarterback

The Seminole Nation has decided. Jameis Winston didn’t do it.

As state attorney Willie Meggs continues his investigation into rape charges against the standout Florida State University quarterback, Winston fans have parsed the evidence, outted the woman and derided her credibility on message boards, blogs and on Twitter.

Winston, who through his attorney has denied all wrongdoing, has not been charged with a crime, and Meggs said Monday that it is unlikely he will make a decision on Winston’s fate before the Thanksgiving holiday.

But the prospect that the redshirt freshman and Heisman Trophy candidate could be charged with a felony has so devastated many FSU football fans that they are determined to change the narrative.

“The Seminole Nation has been the biggest detective of all,” said Brandon Parks, a former FSU backup quarterback and 2010 graduate, before the Seminoles’ home game against Idaho on Saturday. Like many fans, he had uploaded a photo of a woman he considered Winston’s alleged accuser from one of many Internet sites.

“Here she is with him,” Parks said, pointing to a picture of a petite blonde standing, smiling, next to Winston, each stretching an arm around the other’s waist.

Winston towers over the woman. “How can you tell me she didn’t know his name?” Parks asks, referring to the police report that identified the suspect as “unknown” when the woman called police at 4 a.m. from an off-campus apartment last year.

But other websites circulated a different photo, of a different blonde woman, clearly much taller. More here.